Hello Mrs. Day- Your Biopsy Results Arrived

We regret to inform you, you have breast cancer. 😲

“Usually the threat of death makes people a lot more aware of their lives.”

-Paulo Coelho The Alchemist

It was exactly nine years ago that I got those biopsy results. I was 28 years old, in the best shape of my life, and just kicking butt and loving life. I lived in beautiful Colorado in my DINK phase and was having a blast! And then, I found this pesky little lump (from a self-breast exam) and it all spiraled from there. 

Guardian Angels:
First was the doc appointment, followed by an ultrasound, and then after the ultrasound I was told by the docs “we feel 99.99% sure that it’s not cancerous BUT you should get a biopsy.”

• Honestly, when I was told that I was actually MAD. I wasn’t even worried about cancer anymore I was just annoyed that these docs were telling me 99.99% certainty it wasn’t cancer but I still needed to go spend a lot of money (thanks high deductible insurance) and time, oh and then stab my breast with a huge device (I hate shots) and of course, I was most frustrated that then I couldn’t workout for x amount of days after the biopsy. So, yeah, I was mad and annoyed. 
• BUT somewhere there was a guardian angel watching over me because I begrudgingly agreed to get that biopsy. I wasn’t even scared for the results. I was young and healthy and had 99.99% going for me. I was fine….
• A few days later, I was not fine. I got a call with a simple phrase, “you have breast cancer”. A call that changed the trajectory of my life…not completely, but it ultimately derailed it for some time, and gratefully taught me a few lessons along the way. 

So, Will I DIE?:
After the call, we were told to meet with an oncologist which we couldn’t see for five days. So imagine that. For five days you know you have cancer but you know nothing else. You know nothing about how big and how bad. How long do you have? Will you die? How rough will the road be? As you can imagine, that first weekend was the first taste we had of the emotional roller coaster that a cancer diagnosis presents you. I mean for reals, it’s all the feels. Anger, sadness, frustration, acceptance, denial, etc. And we rode every emotion over those five days.

But through it all, I distinctly  remember thinking: “Well, if this is it, then man, you lived a pretty badass life for 28 years. You lived more life in those 28 years then most people live in twice that. Way to do it right.”

Doing it Right:
Doing it right looks different to everyone. And this month’s Elevate Livin’ Life newsletter is not the worksheet style we’ve done in the past to help you figure out what is your “right”. What is your “why”. What is it that sets your soul on fire. To do those steps to help you figure it out, check out our past newsletter HERE.

This month’s focus is just asking you, pleading with you, to stop and analyze where you’re at and think: 

• If I died today, did I do it “right”? 
• Would I be stoked on the life I lived?
• Would I have any regrets?

If the answer is yes, then hell yeah, get it!

If the answer is no, then that’s totally fine, because lucky for you, you’ve got some time. Who knows how much, so don’t read this blog and think to yourself you should someday-maybe change your life to live the life you are stoked on. The time is now before the time is too late.

The Time is NOW, before the Time is too LATE:
Please don’t let the threat of death be the thing that makes you take action. Please let my story and other people’s stories be the catalyst that makes you take action.

My mom, who is 74, has a great outlook. She accepts her aging (despite having the energy of a 20 year old) and knows time is always a limit. For her, she loves to take trips with me and my kids and I’ve heard her make a comment in the past few years of: “I’m getting older and I need to get these trips in with you and your kids when I can because”:

1. Who knows how longer you’ll keep inviting me as I get older and not as functional to move around.
2. Who knows how long your kids will want to spend time with us as they age and turn towards their friends more than their family.
3. You just never know.

Ya know mom, you are so spot on (as moms typically are). You just never know and people and circumstances change, so get it now, while you can. 

So, please, take the time NOW. Turn off the tv one night, stop reading the paper one Sunday morning, take 30 minutes during your kids sporting event to take time to really think about what do you want to see happen in your life to truly make it a life you are stoked on?. Because when your time is up, whether it’s death or old-age, or injury, but your time is up and you CAN’T do those things you are stoked on, you’ll be grateful you did it.

• Also, sidenote, do not wait for retirement.  There is no guarantee. My best friend’s dad worked so hard and saved, saved, saved with the excitement of retirement and all that he was going to do, and then he got diagnosed with cancer and died months before he retired.

So do what you can with what you have NOW to build out your life. 

The Dalai Lama Gets It:
When the Dalai Lama was asked what surprised him the most about humanity he responded by saying: “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

So my friends, don’t follow this way of life. If you are currently in survival mode and not thriving, then make the changes today.

If you aren’t sure how, give me a call and I am happy to brainstorm ideas. I’m not a professional, I am not a coach, but I am someone that is super passionate about helping people live their lives to the fullest and if I can help you achieve that in any way, I will be forever stoked to see you go do that! So, for reals, shoot me an email, give me a call or text. I’ll happily chat, I’ll happily send you past newsletters that discuss ideas of how to put systems into your life to help you achieve that life worth living. I’ll do what I can so that at your end of your life, whenever that is, you’ll think “well, at least I did it right.” Because as one of my favorite quotes from Mae West says, “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” 

I’m signing off today to go for a run in the rain. Because I know that even though I dislike the rain, it will light my soul up. I’ll be stoked to have some outdoor physical activity with me and my pup out on some dirt. What will YOU do today to give you a little burst of soul burning happiness?